Parlour Lane Roasters: A hidden weekday lunch gem

Hidden off a particularly busy section of Market Street in the heart of the city, Parlour Lane Roasters is a bit of a weekday lunch haven away from the hubbub of rat racers and shoppers.

Entrance to Parlour Lane Roasters, Market Street, Sydney

Located right next to the QT Hotel street level entrance, and just up from the State Theatre, Parlour Lane Roasters is a café by day and wine bar by evening with an art deco meets 1950s diner feel.

Sauvignon blanc and sparkling water

It's a substantial space with quirky diner style mashing with the unique QT boutique styled lift lobby which both certainly up the ante on weekday work lunches. The brief wine list helps too.

Counter stool seating

Cakes and pastries

The café offerings run from espresso coffee, cookies and cupcakes to ready-to-go, refrigerated sandwiches to made-to-order salads and winter warming hot dishes.

Ready-to-go sandwiches

The selection of five pre-made sandwiches all looked and sounded pretty good, and make for a easy grab-and-go option for quick desk or park lunches.

Our Reuben roll

Parlour Lane Roasters' version of the Reuben is set on a brown rye roll with several slices of corned beef joined by sauerkraut, pickles and seeded mustard. I probably should have accepted the toasted option but I sure did miss the cheese of a typical Reuben.

Chicken soup

Current hot menu items have been updated for the beginning of winter, with minestrone, sausage rigatoni and lasagne on offer, among other plates that far surpass my usual work lunches. But I couldn't help but order the chicken soup with matzah or matzo balls, which I've never tried up until now.

The twice-cooked organic chicken broth was sweet but rather buttery in flavour while the matzah ball soup dumplings were light, fluffy but ultimately pretty bland. There were sweet, organic carrot sticks in the soup but none of the promised sorrel.

Parlour beef burger with fries

The burgers are another lunch great option, either beef or chicken on a brioche bun, served with fries or salad respectively.

The appropriately petite beef burger, somewhere between a large slider and standard burger in size, had a juicy pasture-fed beef pattie with melted cheese and rather classic additions of fried onions, shredded lettuce and tomato slices.

With house made cucumber pickles and fries on the side, it was the complete meal and a very decent burger at that.

Counter seating

While the space is absolutely perfect for post-work drinks, aperitivo and watching passersby, Parlour Lane Roasters is also a fabulous hidden gem for weekday lunches a few steps up from the norm.

Food, Booze & Shoes dined as a guest of Parlour Lane Roasters, with thanks to The Mint Partners.